The Karma of Metamorphose
by year of the snake
Summary: In the swamp even the smallest of finger leaches know more then they should. They also like to have a hand in helping things along the path of life, in their odd way. A prize for a contest.


Disclaimer: I don't own Avatar: The Last Air-bender, the very talented team of Mike and Brain own the show and characters. The rating maybe wrong but I did try to get it right.

By: year of the snake (at fanfiction) aka. crescentmoon (at mediaminer). And now Opal-Dreams on DeviantArt.

**The Karma of Metamorphose**

AN: Please ignore the fact that Zuko and Iroh were in a random Earth Kingdom Town during the Swamp episode.

They were stuck in a stinky old swamp. The Foggy Swamp, according to Katara, not that Zuko cared where they were. The only reason he hadn't left her alone in this place was because the swamp was freaky. He wouldn't say that aloud but he knew it. Zuko tried to convince himself that he was sticking around to protect her, but that fell through under examination.

It was hard for him to be here with her, alone. There was no one to draw her attention. No one to stop her from tirading on him.

Here's what happened, he and his uncle had decided to visit a friend of his uncle's who lived in Foggy Swamp, so they were traveling in the swamp. Then Zuko got embarrassed by something Iroh had said to Hu and his teenaged children Mox and Dimo. His embarrassment caused him to storm out of the village.

That is when he got lost. All the trees looked the same, covered with vines and moss, and who knows what else. The swamp water washed away his footprints not long after he made them so that was of no help.

Katara had gone off by herself to practice water bending away from her water bending 'kin'. The very thought of being related to the Foggy Swamp people made her shutter. They were nice people but they were also indecent, dirty and smelly. She had a hard time with that. Sokka thought it was hilarious that they called her their kin. It hadn't quite gotten through his skull that if she was their cousin then so was he.

When she heard a rustling she thought maybe one of her 'cousins' as they called themselves followed her. She went on a mad dash. She ended up in a part of the swamp that she had never before seen. But she wasn't worried. She listened quietly for a few moments before deciding that she hadn't been followed.

Katara decided to begin water bending. She took off her shoes and rolled up her pants. There was no way she was going to get in this water with only her underwear /impromptu swimsuit on. It was just too disgusting to consider.

While trying to step into the water she slipped. She became drenched from head to foot. "Eww!" She stuttered. She sighed and began water bending the mucky swamp water from her clothes.

Zuko heard an overly dramatic "Eww!" and his curiosity was ignited. There was someone out here, he could get whoever it was to lead him back to the water tribe village. He peeked around some trees and found Katara, the Avatar's female peasant friend. His eyes widened. It appeared that she had fallen in the water. 'A Water bender is disgusted by water!' a small bit of a snicker slipped past his lips.

Katara was taken by surprise and screamed while jumping. The mossy bottom of the water she was standing in wasn't conducive to quick movement and standing. Once again she landed in the water, all the work she went through to get the water out of her hair and clothes was wasted.

Zuko realized he had been heard and didn't want the water bender to attack him so he crouched down and held his breath.

The young water bender climbed out of the water and began walking towards where the noise had come from. While walking she made sure her water pouch was uncorked. She felt something slimy on her fingers but she thought that it was just mud or moss from the swamp bottom.

She was heading straight towards him. Zuko was sure he was caught. So he stood, he would not be found cowering to a peasant, even if he was no longer a prince.

Katara took a defensive step back when Zuko appeared before her. "Zuko!" She scowled. Bringing the water around her she was about to launch an attack when some of her fingertips pricked. Her toes followed. "Yeouch!" she yelped.

Katara landed on her bottom and looked at the aching digits. Little black slugs were attached to them.

Zuko rushed out to her to see what was wrong.

She swung her arm and water burst at him but didn't make it. "Don't come near me! Ow!" Katara squeezed her eyes shut. She tried to pull one of the things off but it had teeth holding it on.

"Let me help you."

"Do you know what to do about Finger Leaches?"

"No. But maybe I can help."

"Why should I trust you? How do I know You aren't just going to try to catch Aang?"

"I can't guaranty that I wont try to catch the avatar… But I promise that I wont while we are still in this swamp." 'I wouldn't be able to find my way out alone, with a prisoner it would be even more hazardous' he thought.

Katara glared at him but the pain of the finger leaches attached to her toes and fingers convinced her to trust him as far as the little goobags were concerned. "Fine." She studied him suspiciously.

Zuko examined a finger leach that was affixed to the small toe of her right foot. He gently tried to coax it into letting go of the poor girl. It bit in harder.

Katara hissed and bit her lip. "Stupid Thing."

He thought of all the ways he could to get the little bugger to release but none worked. Presently he remembered his uncle jokingly saying that if he ever found himself in a nest of leaches that they could be burned off. He hoped his uncle's joke had some truth in it. Zuko placed his fingers carefully on each side of the stupid slug like thing. Then conjuring the heat of fire bending to his fingers he heated the finger leach. It turned from black to a bright, dark red. It let go as it died in the heat.

He looked at Katara to see her looking amazed at his hand where the cooked leach was beginning to crumble. To take her mind off the pain Zuko asked, "What are you doing out here by yourself anyway?"

"I wanted to bend without the other water benders staring at me like I'm an oddity. Or hitting on me." She blushed when she realized that she said that to Zuko.

"The other water benders? Do you mean the swamp benders?"

"Yes."

"Oh, I'd love to see them hit on you!" he laughed.

"What!?!"

He shrugged, "It just seems like you would be revolted and they wouldn't notice. And that is comedic."

"No, it's not!"

Zuko mumbled, "Maybe not to you." He put her right foot down and started on the left.

"Jerk." she muttered back.

All was quiet for a few minutes. When Zuko began to work on her right hand Katara finally decided to talk to him again. "Sooo… What are you doing here?"

"Uncle's visiting an old friend."

"Oh." She looked down. "And why were you spying on me?'

"I wasn't spying."

"Oh, then what were you doing?"

"Investigating." Zuko switched hands so he now held her left hand with one hand. The fingers of his other hand burned away the bloodsuckers.

"You were investigating me?" She looked at him wide eyed and slightly pink complexion.

"Yes! I mean no! I mean I was investigating a sound that happened to be you." Zuko stumbled over his own words.

"Is that so?" Katara looked into his eyes. "So you were investigating me." she teased lightly.

"No! I would never do that!" Zuko just barely finished burning away the last leach. When he looked up his eyes were immediately focused on hers. Both of his hands still gripped her left hand, even though he sat on her right. They were unaware of how close they were. And now they were too caught up in the other's stare to realize it. Life slowed down for them even as their hearts sped up. Later they would be somewhat confused by the momentum of their hearts. But for now every little thing was only in the glow of eyes of blue or of gold.

"Oh! Shoo! Is this your snoggin' spot? Looks like we'll have to snog at ol' man tree Masie." The smiling Foggy Swamp man pulled his sweetheart with him to go 'snog' somewhere else.

Katara blushed so hard she thought her head would explode. 'Our snogging spot?' Her redness increased. One of the Foggy Swamp girls who was a newlywed had snogged with her new husband in front of her and Sokka just that day. One of the other water-benders had told them to go snog somewhere else. "Uh, thanks. Goodbye!" She got up and sprinted all the way back to the village. She didn't want to think about snogging with Zuko.

"Goodbye?" he asked confused at the suddenness. Zuko sat there for a moment thinking of what the man said. "What's a snog?" he asked himself. Then he realized that if he didn't get up he would lose Katara's trail and may never make it back to the village.

For a moment while chasing her he almost lost track of the reason. Zuko almost thought that he was chasing a dream or a vision for a moment. Then it dissipated and returned to just him chasing someone who would guide him to civilization, no matter how uncivilized the civilization is.

When he made it back to the village he made sure that he wasn't seen by any of the avatar's group. The avatar's group left before lunch. Sokka insisted upon it as he realized that if Katara was family so was he. And family often married here.

Zuko talked to Dimo, his uncle's friend's son about how he had found a girl who had gotten herself latched onto by finger leaches because he wanted to know more about them.

"Finger leaches are young elbow leaches. Finger leaches are the stage of leach right after the lava stage. When finger leaches grow to about the size of a hand they cocoon themselves up and go through a metamorphosis. They come out of the cocoon as something much greater and more powerful, elbow leaches. You can only find finger leaches in shallow pools of water though. My dad always says that finger leach is like a man, he changes into something much greater and more powerful when he breathes with destiny. I think he's full of swamp gas, but sometimes he make a good point. Don't tell him I said that." Dimo had been away at an Earth Kingdom school for a number of years. That was his deceased mother's final wish. He had only just gotten back.

Zuko refused to show more ignorance to these barely dressed smelly people so he didn't ask his other question.

When Zuko and Iroh where out of the swamp and on their own again he couldn't help but ask. "Uncle, what is snogging?"

Iroh looked at him shocked before a half jolly, half mischievous smile curled his face. "I'm glad you asked me that." He wrapped his arm around his shoulder. "Believe it or not I have had much experience in the ways of snog…"

Katara blushed and smiled fondly a lot that week. It freaked Sokka out. But no one could guess why she did it. Sokka eventually figured it's soul reason for being was to freak him out.

All that night after he bedded down Zuko couldn't sleep for thinking of snogging with Katara. And although if anyone knew it he would claim different it wasn't as unpleasant a concept as he would have thought before. Yet he still tried to keep himself from thinking about it again, which often led to thinking about it again.

* * *

Zutararules777 from DeviantART won this story when she/he found a fragment of a thumb in my Zutara Seven Cahoots picture (found only on deviantART, both colored and uncolored). Zutararules777 asked if I would write this idea for her/him 'Katara some how got leeches on her and the only way to get them off is for Zuko to burn them and while he is burning them off they talk and something embarrassing happens and they end up liking each other more or something... if that doesn't work then something Zutaraish please' This idea really made me smile. It was just so odd and cute.

Well I hope you liked it.

Oh and I have started a Christmas Couple's Contest using various couples from Avatar, Inuyasha and From Far Away. It is open to writers and artists. To check it out go to http://opal-dreams()deviantart()com/journal/ (take out the () and put .) or for fanfiction(.)net people find the link in my profile. There will be many winners. You can also donate a prize or judge.

Please let me know what you think. Thank you!


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